Finding You: The Switched Series book one (3 page)

Chapter Four

“You have been holding out on me Callie. How could you not tell your best friend about him? I know I have been gone a whole week, but really, he is definitely something you tell your friends about. He is hot. Does he have any brothers?” she asks, turning back from the window she has been staring at him through.

“He actually has two brothers and they are all off limits to you,” I say, watching her face turn into a pout.

“You’re no fun Callie. It’s not like you can have all three of them. I really hope you haven’t gotten into that in the last week while I have been gone,” she says.

“Actually, you have missed a very exciting week. They actually are all mine,” I say, watching her eyes get wider.

“They are all three my brothers,” I tell her watching the surprise on her face. “I’m not trying to be mean. I would just really like to get to know them before you start taking them away from me with all of your charms.”

“They are all yours, I completely understand,” she says, holding her hands up like she is surrendering. “I had no idea you had any family. The only person you ever talk to other than me is Clay. What is going on Callie?”

“Sit down and get comfortable, it’s going to be a long story,” I tell her.

“Should I grab hot chocolate first?” she asks.

“Sure, but this story may need something stronger,” I say, getting comfortable on the couch for the second time tonight. When she comes back with our drinks, I sit back and tell her every detail of the past two days. I even tell her that I don’t want them to know about Clay yet. There is one thing I don’t tell her though. The one thing no one knows. I just hope I don’t mess up somewhere and someone figures it out. It is a family of cops after all.

“This is unbelievable,” Leighton says. “To think you have had this whole other family out there your whole life you had no idea about. You even have a twin brother. How amazing is that?”

“I still don’t know if I should go,” I say, while she is still staring at the picture. I am definitely going to have to keep her away from these boys.

“What do you mean you don’t know? Callie, you have to go. You have a family. You get a second chance. Some people never even get a first chance. I know it doesn’t seem like it right now, but this is a good thing. I am really happy for you. They aren’t even my family and I can’t wait to meet them,” she says.

“What happens when Molly wakes up?” I ask her. “How do you think she is going to feel when she finds out she has been replaced?”

“You are not replacing her, Callie. If anything you will be gaining a sister too. I don’t know anything about this girl, but I do know how great you have told me your parents were. If she is anything like them, she will be able to handle it. You have to know that.”

Maybe she’s right. I haven’t really thought about it like that. I guess she will have parts of my parents in her. Maybe that is a way I can get them back into my life. Maybe this won’t be such a bad thing after all.

“Thank you Leighton. You really are the best friend a girl could ask for, but stay away from my brothers please, at least for now,” I say, knowing she would do anything for me.

“You know I have your back. I’ll just look. No touching, I promise,” she says smiling at me. “Now, let’s go get you packed up. You have a big day tomorrow.”

Leighton stays with me until around ten o’clock that night. We end up ordering a pizza while going through my entire wardrobe. I have no idea what to pack so I’m just letting her do it for me. I have way too many outfits and even more shoes. I guess that’s the perks of having Leighton for a best friend. She loves to shop. I’m good with a pair of yoga pants and flip flops, but she believes everyone should always look their best because you never know when you are going to meet the love of your life. She is definitely a romantic.

I call Clay after Leighton leaves to give him an update on what I have decided. “Hey sweetheart,” he answers on the first ring.              

“Hey Clay,” I say back.

“How are you holding up?” he asks.

“I’m as good as I can be. I had an interesting talk with Brody this afternoon. Why didn’t you tell me Molly was in a coma and has no idea about any of this? That really freaked me out,” I say, while I am still trying to pack up my last bag.

“They didn’t tell me she was in a coma. All they told me was exactly what I told you. She had some scratches and bruises, but was going to be okay. Like I told you earlier, I don’t talk to them very often anymore. It’s complicated. We were good friends when my wife and I had just gotten married. I really don’t keep in touch anymore like I should.”

I should have known he would have told me if he had known. That is the best thing about Clay, he doesn’t sugar coat things to make me feel better. He has always been that way and I think that has definitely made me a stronger person.

              “Do you really think this is a good idea? You know these people better than me,” I ask him.

“Callie, I am going to tell you one thing and I mean every word of it,” he says seriously. “If anybody I know could raise my kids other than myself, it would be this family. They are good people and I would tell you if I thought this was a bad idea.”

I know he means this. We don’t have a lot of serious talks, but when we do, I know he is speaking from his heart. If he thinks I’ll be okay, I guess it’s worth a try.

“There’s only one other thing I’m worried about,” I say quietly. “What if he finds me? What if I go into a store or a restaurant or look out the door and I see those eyes? Clay, I really don’t think I can do this after all. I am not ready to go back to that town. Not yet,” I say. I feel a panic attack coming on.  I have panic attacks pretty often, but usually at night. They used to be worse. I would actually wake up screaming when I saw those blue eyes in my dreams. I haven’t had one of those nights in a long time. What if going back to that town brings them back. Maybe being alone isn’t so bad after all.

“Callie, listen to me. Brody came by to see me this afternoon when he left your house. He really likes you, Callie. He said he thought he would come here and find some whiney annoying little girl that he wouldn’t be able to stand, but found you instead. He already cares about you and was worried about your safety going back there. Here’s what we have come up with. The Taylors have a lot of land. It’s actually on a farm, about an hour and a half outside of Nashville. They have very few neighbors. The boys live pretty close and some of their friends. We think if you stay around there and don’t go into Nashville by yourself, you should be okay. There are enough of them to watch out for you. They also have friends that are around a lot that can help look out for you too. I really think you will be okay. There is no reason anyone would be looking for you in this little town. I don’t think there is a lot there, so you may go crazy not going into the big city. “

“So you’re saying I am going to have a lot of cop babysitters watching my every move. That will drive me crazy. I doubt I’ll be there long anyway. A couple of weeks tops,” I say, knowing that’s not true. If the rest are anything like Brody, I’m afraid I will never be ready to leave. I really hope I’m not making the biggest mistake of my life in the morning.

“Not babysitters, just people who care about you and want to keep you safe. It’s going to be fine, Callie, I promise. If you ever feel like you have had enough, just give me a call anytime and I’ll come get you.”

“I thought you would come with me. Clay, I can’t do this without you.”

“I have a new case I’m starting tomorrow. I am leaving in the morning, besides it will be easier to keep us a secret if I’m not there. You can call or text me anytime. I’ll check up on you too. You are going to be fine,” he says.

“Okay, I guess better try to get some sleep. I have a big day tomorrow. Be careful Clay. I’ll talk to you soon,” I say, needing to get off of the phone before I lose it for the second time today.

“You’re going to be fine Callie. You are a lot stronger than you think. Call me anytime if you need anything. I promise they are good people. You will love them. Get some sleep now. I’ll talk to you soon. Bye sweetheart,” he says, before hanging up.

As I get into my bed a little later that night, I once again can’t stop the tears. I have cried very few times in my life. I cried the first time a boy broke my heart. I cried the night I found my parents. I cried at their funeral. I have cried every Fourth of July since my parents died. I cried today when I found out I have a twin brother.  I’m not one of those girls that cry over everything. They cry when their makeup is messed up or when their favorite jeans are dirty. Girls that cry at movies really bother me the most; I mean it’s not even real. In my opinion, real life is a whole lot sadder than any movie I can think of.

I didn’t take my sleeping pills tonight since I had no sleep last night, but decide I better if I’m going to get any sleep. My mind doesn’t seem to want to shut down. I go into the kitchen to get them and a drink of water. As I’m walking back to bed I look down on the coffee table and see the picture I left there from this afternoon. I pick the picture up and go get back into the bed. I look at all of these faces one more time and wonder once again how you don’t know you have the wrong daughter in your family.  I really hope tomorrow doesn’t turn out to be the new worst day of my life.

Brody is knocking on my door around ten the next morning. I overslept, so now I am going to look really horrible when I meet these people. Leighton would kill me right now if she could see me. I am wearing my yoga pants and flip flops and thrown my hair up in a ponytail. I figure if I’m going to spend the day in an airplane, I should at least be comfortable.

I open the door to find Brody standing outside with two coffees in his hand. “I didn’t know if you would let me in or not,” he says, handing me one of the cups. “It’s French vanilla, I hope that’s okay” he says, looking at my three suitcases. “I hope this means you have decided to come with me.”

“I’ll go on one condition,” I say.

“What would that be?” he asks with his ever so annoying smirk.

“You call your parents and the hospital and set up a DNA test for as soon as we can get there. I want everyone to know the truth. I don’t want any assumptions going around. If I’m going to be around, we need to know what is really going on.”

“That can definitely be arranged. I’ll call on the way to airport,” he says, looking very relieved. “Is this really all your luggage? You must not be planning to stay very long.”

“Yes, this is all of it. I’m not staying long. Two weeks tops. My home is here. This is where I live now,” I say. I honestly have no idea how long I will be there. I just don’t want them planning to have me stay. I’m still not sure their sister is going to want me anywhere near them when she wakes up. Do they not understand how this girl is going to feel about me being around?

“Okay, two weeks,” he says, grabbing my suitcases. “I’m just really glad you decided to come with me. I was really afraid you wouldn’t. This means a lot to me and my family. They will be so excited to finally meet you.” I really hope he’s right.

I lock up my house and turn to follow him to his rented SUV. I open the passenger side door and start to get in when I see the airplane tickets in the seat. Tickets purchased a week ago. I pick them up and look at him. “You were pretty confident you could talk me into coming with you,” I say.

“Like you said yesterday, I usually get what I want,” he says, smiling at me. On the way to the airport, his cell phone starts ringing through the speakers. “It’s my mom, are you okay if I answer?” he asks, sounding concerned.

“It’s fine, just please don’t expect me to talk.” I say, not really wanting him to answer, but what can I do, he does have a sister in a coma in the hospital right now. Maybe she woke up. That might take some attention off of me.

“Hi mom, you’re on speaker and I’m not alone in the car,” he answers.

“Oh okay,” she says shocked. “I just wanted to check in with you and see when you were coming home.”

“We are headed to the airport right now. Shouldn’t be too late tonight when we get there,” he says to her.

“Good,” she says. “We have been at the hospital all night, so we are going to go home and try to get some rest, Grams is going to stay tonight. We should be home if you want to come by when you get in.”

“That sounds good to me. I need you to me a favor before you leave the hospital. Go set up a time to do a paternity test. You can go ahead and do it before you leave and we can come by before we come to the house. Just let them know we will be there,” he says to her.

“I thought y’all already had the test done,” she says.

“We did, they just said it could take up to two weeks. It’s quicker and more accurate if it’s a parent. I just thought that might be better than waiting,” he tells her.

“Of course I will,” she says. “I’ll go right now and do that. Be careful travelling and we will see y’all tonight. I love you,” she says.

“I love you too mom. Bye” he says right before hanging up.

Once again the tears are streaming down my face. I can feel them. He reaches over and opens the glove compartment to get a tissue and hands it to me. He pats my leg and then puts his hands back on the steering wheel. He doesn’t say anything the rest of the drive and I’m very thankful for that. I don’t think I would be able to carry on a conversation about anything.